Our Paul Wood reveals why you should devote your ears to the Church of the Cosmic Skull!
A Cult Following…
Hello again music lovers, thanks for joining me for another instalment of Wood Recommend. If you haven’t already read them, please take a browse through my previous submissions for some unmissable music selections, and if you have, I hope you’ve enjoyed them and are ready for another… and do I have something special for you today!
“As the world turns to a desert of ash and rust, a light appears on the horizon.
From above the clouds comes a path to the Cosmic Compound.
The Gate is open to all who observe the 7 objects…”
These are the words that welcome you to this band’s website. Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘Oi, Wood, are you trying to get us to join a cult or something?’ and my answer would honestly have to be ‘Sort of, yeah…’
The band is named Church of the Cosmic Skull, and their gimmick (at least I think it’s a gimmick) is that of a John Jones-esque cult, less the mass murder-suicide angle. Formed in Nottingham, England in 2015 with the goal of spreading a message of “peace-domination”, in 5 short years this 7 Piece band have already released 3 full albums, all of which instantly became my most listened to albums of the last year.
Is Satan Real? is probably the strongest debut album I’ve heard since The Darkness’ Permission to Land, maybe even ever. It bears all the marks of a passionate and clearly incredibly talented band who genuinely care about the flow of tracks. The journey through this album, and it truly is a journey, starts with the warm inviting tone of the opening riff of Mountain Heart, through the darker Black Slug to the title track’s elegant dance between a Flying-V and a Hammond Organ, finishing with the bleak and, at times chaotic, Evil in Your Eye.
If you aren’t already a card-carrying member of the congregation by the end of this album, the next album Science Fiction will be sure to brainwash you into compliance with the beautifully riff heavy opening title track. Cold Sweat on this album was my introduction to The Church, and was stuck in my head for, well, it’s been two years now… The duality of the track Timehole (Gonna Build a Rocket Tonight) has never failed to impress me either.
Now comes the difficult part. When trying to liken this band to others, I’ve always struggled and can only ever muster a summation of ‘I believe this is what Fleetwood Mac would sound like if they formed now. Maybe with a hint of ELO on their more recent album’. Mostly because the description of ‘Psychedelic-70’s cult-gospel-blues-rock’ is just too much.
Spotify link to my playlist with all three albums in order (Yes, I have a playlist JUST for their albums.)
Please give them a listen, preferably unshuffled for full satisfaction, and let me know if I’ll be seeing you in the compound.
Personal Favourite: It’s between Black Slug and Cold Sweat, until I listen again, and then it’s whichever track is currently playing.
Check out Church of the Cosmic Skull and send them some love!
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